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Evelyne Guindon: Canada becoming a leader in shining a spotlight on maternal healthBack to video

Roughly one year ago, world leaders focused their attention on a global health crisis affecting hundreds of thousands of women each year – maternal, newborn and child health. A woman dies nearly every minute of every day from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. In many developing countries a girl may be more likely to die in pregnancy than she is to go to school.

At the Muskoka G8 summit, held in June 2010, Canada exhibited its leadership and commitment to combating this dire situation. CARE Canada applauds that commitment and now, one year later, as Canada hosts the Women’s Worlds conference in Ottawa, we want to once again shine the spotlight on the daily efforts of countries and non-governmental organizations to improve the health outcomes and livelihoods of women, newborns and children in countries around the globe.

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Saving the lives of mothers and children is not so much about medical breakthroughs, but rather, about ensuring women, their families and their communities have information about health and family planning options and improved access to health services. Innovative outreach strategies and community-based approaches are required to overcome the daunting combination of social, economic and cultural barriers that prevent poor women from accessing and utilizing health services. In order to achieve significant and sustained change, it is essential to involve and empower poor and vulnerable women to help shape health policies, practices, and programs that will benefit them. Through financial resources, political will and proven strategic interventions, we can and will ensure that every mother matters.

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By building on CARE’s 50 years of experience and expertise in maternal and child health, and working with a global coalition of public and private partners, we have committed to making pregnancy and delivery safer for 30 million women in Africa, Asia and Latin America by 2015. We know that optimal solutions include comprehensive community-based approaches focused on delivering life-saving interventions to women and children closer to where they live.

Canada is the driving force behind the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal and Child Health and is quickly becoming a leader in ensuring that the plight of women and children in developing countries is not forgotten.

CARE challenges Canadians to ensure continued support for this critical issue. We must not forget the women and children in the developing world who lack access to the most basic of health services and care; health care that we value so highly in our own country. As Canadians, we have a lot to be proud of. Let’s continue to shine the spotlight on Canada’s pledge and efforts to save the lives of women and their children around the world.

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